This article is part of our Prospects Analysis series.
The greatest hockey tournament in the world begins Dec. 26 in Helsinki, Finland. Our annual preview is below.
United States
Goalies: The United States goaltending duo will be consist of Brandon Halverson (NYR, 2nd rd. '14) and Alex Nedeljkovic (CAR, 2nd rd. '14). Both goaltenders were on the team last year, although neither played much behind starter Thatcher Demko. Both keepers play in the OHL, and both have had poor seasons playing behind mediocre teams (although Nedeljkovic was traded to a bit better team in Niagara about two weeks ago.) Halverson is the better pro prospect of the two, but I wouldn't be surprised if both guys saw early action. Nedeljkovic is the better athlete, but Halverson's puck handling ability can be a huge asset on the larger ice surface.
Defensemen: This is going to be Team USA's biggest weakness. The defensive core has three returnees: Zach Werenski (CBJ, 1st rd. '15), Brandon Carlo (BOS, 2nd rd. '15) and Ryan Collins (CBJ, 2nd rd. '14). Werenski is going to get a ton of ice time as an elite puck moving defenseman, especially on the power play. Carlo and Collins are both more effective in their own end at this point in their careers. All of the other defensemen who are expected to make the team are small guys who are more slanted towards the offensive end. They include Boston University teammates and Long Island natives Brandon Fortunato (UFA) and Charlie McAvoy ('16 draft eligible), Chad Krys ('16 draft eligible)
The greatest hockey tournament in the world begins Dec. 26 in Helsinki, Finland. Our annual preview is below.
United States
Goalies: The United States goaltending duo will be consist of Brandon Halverson (NYR, 2nd rd. '14) and Alex Nedeljkovic (CAR, 2nd rd. '14). Both goaltenders were on the team last year, although neither played much behind starter Thatcher Demko. Both keepers play in the OHL, and both have had poor seasons playing behind mediocre teams (although Nedeljkovic was traded to a bit better team in Niagara about two weeks ago.) Halverson is the better pro prospect of the two, but I wouldn't be surprised if both guys saw early action. Nedeljkovic is the better athlete, but Halverson's puck handling ability can be a huge asset on the larger ice surface.
Defensemen: This is going to be Team USA's biggest weakness. The defensive core has three returnees: Zach Werenski (CBJ, 1st rd. '15), Brandon Carlo (BOS, 2nd rd. '15) and Ryan Collins (CBJ, 2nd rd. '14). Werenski is going to get a ton of ice time as an elite puck moving defenseman, especially on the power play. Carlo and Collins are both more effective in their own end at this point in their careers. All of the other defensemen who are expected to make the team are small guys who are more slanted towards the offensive end. They include Boston University teammates and Long Island natives Brandon Fortunato (UFA) and Charlie McAvoy ('16 draft eligible), Chad Krys ('16 draft eligible) who plays for the USNTDP and Miami University's Louis Belpedio (MIN, 3rd rd. '14). It's not an intimidating group. Coach Ron Wilson is going to need at least one, and probably two guys to step up once they get to Europe.
Forwards: Team USA's forward group is promising. In Auston Matthews ('16 draft eligible), Christian Dvorak (ARI, 2nd rd. '14) and Sonny Milano (CBJ, 1st rd. '14), the United States has three forwards with elite offensive ability. Matthews is going to be the No. 1 pick in next year's draft, Dvorak has been arguably the best player in the OHL this season and Milano is playing in the AHL. Brock Boeser (VAN, 1st rd. '15) and Nick Schmaltz (CHI, 1st rd. '14) are two more forwards who will be responsible for helping out offensively. Guys like Ryan MacInnis (ARI, 2nd rd. '14) and Colin White (OTT 1st rd. '15) are two-way guys who will be counted on to help kill penalties. The wild cards for the Americans are a pair of 2016 draft eligible players: Matthew Tkachuk and Alex DeBrincat. Tkachuk has 59 points in 29 games for OHL London while playing alongside Dvorak and Mitch Marner and DeBrincat has 33 goals in just 30 games for OHL Erie. If either can establish themselves as a force in Helsinki, Team USA should be in good shape. Strangely, neither Alex Tuch (MIN 1st rd. '14) nor Jeremy Bracco (TOR 2nd rd. '15) were named to the preliminary roster. There were rumors that Bracco was being punished for bolting Boston College for the OHL.
Canada
Goalies: Team Canada was also planning on taking just two goalies MacKenzie Blackwood (NJ, 2nd rd. '15) and Mason McDonald (CGY, 2nd rd. '14) to Europe, but Blackwood was suspended for eight OHL games after a vicious slashing incident and as a result he won't be eligible to play in Canada's first two round robin games. Canada added Samuel Montembault (FLA, 3rd rd. '15) to the roster while Blackwood serves his suspension. MacDonald figures to get a chance to run away with the job, although he's been consistently terrible throughout his junior career. Canada's goaltending has been their downfall in the years that they've failed to win gold medals and this group isn't going to give Canadian fans much confidence.
Defensemen: The lone returnee on the blueline for Canada is Joe Hicketts (DET UFA). The diminutive, puck-moving defender is going to get a lot of playing time in Finland. The rest of the Canadian defenders have strengths and weaknesses. Thomas Chabot (OTT, 1st rd. '15) is probably the safest two-way player of the lot. Travis Sanheim (PHI, 1st rd. '14) has high-end offensive skills, but he was injured with WHL Calgary leading up to the tournament. Neither Haydn Fleury (CAR, 1st rd. '14) nor Roland McKeown (CAR trade) have developed as hoped since being drafted. Travis Dermott (TOR, 3rd rd. '15) is a big asset on the power play, but I'm not sure how much playing time he will get at even strength. Brandon Hickey (CGY, 3rd rd. '14) from Boston University is the lone collegiate player on the team. If everything breaks right it could be a solid group of defenders, but there are question marks all over the place.
Forwards: As always, the Canadian forward group is loaded. Dylan Strome (ARI, 1st rd. '15), Mitch Marner (TOR, 1st rd. '15) and Mathew Barzal (NYI, 1st rd. '15) are three of the most offensively gifted junior-aged players in the world. Lawson Crouse (FLA, 1st rd. '15) and Julien Gauthier ('16 draft eligible) bring size, while guys like Travis Konecny (PHI, 1st rd. '15) and Mitchell Stephens (TB, 2nd rd. '15) are solid two-way players. Jake Virtanen from Vancouver was the only player released from an NHL team to join Team Canada. The Canucks refused to allow Jared McCann to play. The wild card for the Canadian forward corps is Brayden Point (TB, 3rd rd. '14). Point has been dealing with a pretty serious shoulder injury leading up to the tournament and although he has been cleared to play, he had to leave one of Canada's exhibition games after aggravating the injury. Point was leading the WHL in scoring at the time he got hurt and if he is able to make it through the tournament healthy, it will be a huge boost to Canada's gold medal hopes.
Sweden
Sweden returns goalie Linus Soderstrom (NYI, 4th rd. '15) from last year's team. Soderstrom, is playing in Sweden's second-tier league, but he's put up terrific numbers. Jacob Larsson (ANA, 1st rd. '15) and Gabriel Carlsson (CBJ, 1st rd. '15) give Sweden two former first-round picks on defense. Andreas Englund (OTT, 2nd rd. '14) is a potential shutdown defender for the Swedes. Up front, all eyes will be on William Nylander (TOR, 1st rd. '14). Nylander, who is playing in the AHL, very much wanted to represent Sweden one last time and the Leafs granted his wish. Adrian Kempe (LA, 1st rd. '14) will provide experience, while Joel Erikssson-Ek (MIN, 1st rd. '14) and Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson (BOS, 2nd rd. '15) give the Swedes two players who have the ability to excel in all three zones. It's a good-looking roster, one with no apparent weaknesses.
Finland
This is a very young Finnish team, but they have a world of talent. Defenseman Olli Juolevi and forwards Jesse Puljujarvi and Patrik Laine all have the potential to be top-ten picks in next summer's draft. Julius Nattinen (ANA, 2nd rd. '15) is playing very well for OHL Barrie and Aleksi Saarela (NYR, 3rd rd. '15) has 10 goals in 27 games in Finland's top league as an 18-year-old. Add in the offensive prowess of defenseman Vili Saarijarvi (DET, 3rd rd. '15) and you have another core that should compete for a gold medal. Even when their roster looks poor, the Finns play such good team hockey that they always have a chance to win.
Russia
The core group that featured Pavel Buchnevich and Ivan Barbashev has graduated and the Russians have very few returning players, especially on defense. Ilya Samsonov (WSH, 1st rd. '15) is the best goaltending prospect in the tournament and one of the best in the league. Ivan Provorov (PHI, 1st rd. '15) is Russia's best player and he could easily play upwards of 30 minutes per game. Evgeni Svechnikov (DET, 1st rd. '15) and Denis Gurianov (DAL, 1st rd. '15) were first round picks in last year's draft. Vladislav Kamenev (NSH, 2nd rd. '14), Alexander Dergachev (LA, 2nd rd. '15) and Yakov Trenin (NSH, 2nd rd. '15) all have high-end skill, but they're all wildly inconsistent. Russia's potential outcomes could be anywhere from the gold medal to the relegation round (well, maybe not that bad).
Others To Watch
Czech Republic: G Vitek Vanecek (WSH, 2nd rd. '14), D Dominik Masin (TB, 2nd rd. '14), D Jakub Zboril (BOS, 1st rd. '15), F Pavel Zacha (NJ, 1st rd. '15), F Filip Chlapik (OTT, 2nd rd. '15), F Vaclav Karabacek (BUF, 2nd rd. '14)
Slovakia: G Adam Huska (NYR, 7th rd. '15), D Erik Cernak (LA, 2nd rd. '15), F Radovan Bondra (CHI, 5th rd. '15)
Switzerland: D Jonas Siegenthaler (WSH, 2nd rd. '14), F Timo Meier (SJ, 1st rd. '14), F Noah Rod (SJ, 2nd rd. '14)
